Management Team

Dr. Franz J. Fink

President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Franz J. Fink joined Maxwell as president and chief executive officer in May 2014. Immediately prior to joining Maxwell, Dr. Fink was an independent business consultant, assisting companies in the industrial and automotive markets with business optimization and growth initiatives. From 2006 to 2012, he was president and chief executive officer of Gennum Corp., a leading supplier of high-speed analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for the optical communications,
networking and video broadcast markets that was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange before being acquired by Semtech Corp. in March 2012. From 2003 to 2006, he was senior vice president and general manager of the Wireless and Mobile Systems Group of Austin, Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. From 1991 through 2003, he held a series of senior management positions in the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola Corp. in Germany, the United
Kingdom and the United States. From 2012 to 2014 he served as a director and was a member of the Governance Committee of Pason Systems Corp. He holds a doctorate in natural sciences from the Department of Computer-aided Design and a master’s degree in computer science and electrical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.

David Lyle

David Lyle joined Maxwell as senior vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary in May 2015. Before joining Maxwell, Lyle was chief financial officer of Entropic Communications, a provider of semiconductor solutions for home entertainment, which was acquired in April 2015 by MaxLinear, a producer of broadband and networking semiconductors. Prior to Entropic, Lyle served as CFO of RF Magic. Earlier in his career, he held senior corporate finance positions with Broadcom through its acquisition of Zyray Wireless, where he was CFO, and Mobilian Corporation, where he was CFO until the company was acquired by Intel Corporation, and with Intel, where he held various finance roles in the microprocessor, networking and Intel Capital divisions. Previously, he was employed in the commercial banking industry, where he focused primarily on leveraged buy-outs. Lyle holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Southern California, a master of business administration from Arizona State University, and a master in international management from the Garvin School of International Management, Thunderbird.

Dr. Young Ho Kim

VP & CEO of Korea

Dr. Young Ho Kim joined Maxwell Technologies as VP & CEO of Korea in May 2017 and is responsible for Maxwell’s Korean R&D and product line. He brings over 22 years of engineering management experience in the field of fuel cells and energy storage devices. Before joining Maxwell, he was CEO of Nesscap Co., Ltd. Prior to his appointment as CEO in September 2010, he served as the head of the R&D department at Nesscap Co., Ltd. since May 2004, after being appointed a registered director in March 2003. Before joining Nesscap, Kim served in a managerial position at Daewoo Electronic Component Co., Ltd. for five years and was a senior research scientist at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Kim earned both his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in material engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) and his bachelor’s degree in inorganic material engineering at Seoul National University.

Everett E. (Earl) Wiggins III

Vice President of Operations

Earl Wiggins joined Maxwell in August 2006 as senior director of manufacturing and was promoted to his current position in February 2008. Before joining Maxwell, he was vice president, continuation engineering with Maxtor Corporation, a manufacturer of computer disk drives. Previously he spent 15 years with Quantum Corporation, a manufacturer of computer storage products, where he advanced through a series of senior engineering and management positions, culminating with his appointment as vice president,
customer and quality engineering. He holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Gérard Lopez

Vice President and General Manager, High Voltage Product Line

Mr. Lopez is the general manager for Maxwell’s high voltage product line and is based in Rossens, Switzerland. He is responsible for the HV P&L. Prior to his position at Maxwell, Mr. Lopez was vice president of EMEA operations for Brainware Inc. He also served as director of the Economic Development Agency Swiss (DEN). Prior to his position with DEN, Mr. Lopez served as corporate director for Merisant, Inc., managing seven factories and 19 sales subsidiaries around the globe where he designed and implemented go-to-market strategies, oversaw
growth of indirect/partner channels, and contributed to overall revenue growth. Before joining Merisant, he was operations director at Silicon Graphics covering EMEA businesses. At Silicon, he managed business development for RPG B.U. Earlier in his career, Mr. Lopez worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in Paris, where he directed operational activities in DEC’s emerging European markets.

Thibault Kassir

Vice President and General Manager, Energy Storage Products

Thibault Kassir joined Maxwell in May 2017 as vice president and general manager, energy storage products. Kassir’s over 24 years of expertise includes engineering leadership and management, new product development, sales and business development, innovation and business growth. Most recently, he served as vice president, product management, consumer division at Knowles Corporation where he grew revenues to exceed $600 million. His background includes several roles at ON Semiconductor, a supplier of silicon solutions for energy efficient electronics including products for discrete and custom devices in automotive, smart grid and power applications. As ON Semiconductor’s director and general manager, he maintained full P&L responsibility for all product and technology creation. Kassir holds
a MSE in microelectronics and automated control systems from the Institut National Polytechnique in Toulouse,
France and an MBA in marketing and corporate finance from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Gordon Schenk

Vice President of Americas Sales

Gordon Schenk joined Maxwell Technologies in February 2018 as vice president of Americas sales. He brings over 20 years of experience in engineering, global sales and business development with expertise in semiconductor, software, wireless, consumer electronics, and IP licensing. Most recently, he was head of global sales for Vuforia, a division of PTC Inc., where he was responsible for driving revenue through development partners and key strategic customers, including highly recognized global brands. Prior to that, Schenk held various leadership positions in sales and business development at Comhear, SRS Labs, Entropic Communications, Quorum, Infineon Technologies, and M/A-COM. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and did graduate studies in new venture management at Pepperdine University.

Stefan Dosch

Vice President of Ultracapacitor Sales, EMEA

Stefan Dosch joined Maxwell in September 2017 as vice president of ultracapacitor sales, EMEA and is responsible for sales team leadership, applications engineering as well as marketing and business strategy for the EMEA region. Dosch has over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry in multiple sales, technical and marketing roles. Prior to joining Maxwell, he was vice president EMEA sales distribution and mass market at NXP Semiconductors. He holds an electrical engineering degree from the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany.

Dr. Jeff Zhou

Vice President & General Manager China & Sales Asia Pacific

Dr. Jeff Zhou joined Maxwell in July 2017 as vice president & general manager China & sales Asia Pacific. He is responsible for operations, quality, supply chain, and maintenance and implementation of sales programs for assigned products, markets, sales channels, and regions within the Asia Pacific territory. Zhou has over 15 years of automotive industry expertise and operative experience in general management, sales and marketing, corporate strategy development, M&A, strategy consulting, start-up and venture capital business. Most recently, Zhou was CEO of JV Valeo Siemens eAutomotive in Shanghai where he successfully transitioned the eCar business from Siemens to JV Valeo Siemens. He holds a doctorate in experimental particle physics from the Physical Institute at RWTH Aachen.

Aileen Gipson, CCP, PHR, SHRM-CP

Senior Director, Human Resources

Aileen Gipson joined Maxwell in July 2001 and was promoted to several leadership positions before her appointment to senior director, human resources in January 2015. Ms. Gipson leads the human resource organization for Maxwell and its subsidiaries and is responsible for developing and implementing global talent management strategies and initiatives which
includes employee relations, compensation, benefits, talent management and employee engagement for the company’s diversified and multicultural workforce. Prior to Maxwell, she held human resources positions specializing in employee benefits and worked for national healthcare organizations such as Kaiser Permanente and Community Care Network, Inc. Ms. Gipson holds a B.S. degree in psychobiology from the University of California, Riverside. She is certified through the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Human Resource Professional (PHR) and certified through the Society of Human Resources (SHRM – CP). She is also an accredited Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).

Emily Lough

Corporate Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Emily Lough joined Maxwell in 2007 as an intellectual property lawyer and, following a series of successful guidance and leadership on legal and compliance matters within the organization, was promoted to her current position as corporate counsel and chief compliance officer in 2012. She holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and J.D. degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. She was nominated for the San Diego Business Journal’s General Counsel of the Year Awards in both 2013 and 2015.